Our modern world is infinitely more complex than the one previous generations inhabited, and the pace of life much quicker. Yet the way our grandmothers lived their lives - using knowledge passed down through the family - is as relevant today as it's always been.

Homemaking and Housekeeping celebrates the rites and rituals that for centuries have marked the seasons around the world, from natural spring cleaning to the planting of seeds, through the summer months where home and garden can be enriched with floral and edible bounty, from rose petal pot pourri to fresh herb cheeses; in the autumn, harvest time offers an abundance of preserving, pickling and drying, while winter brings remedies for sore throats, recipes for steamed puddings, and instructions on how to make candles and decorate your home for the holidays.

Content includes:

Spring: Spring flowers, posies and bulbs, spring lamb, asparagus, pancakes, dealing with slugs and snails...

Summer: Windowsill herbs, remedies for hayfever and summer colds, sliced peach jam, salts and fizzies...

Autumn: Toffee apples, drying pears, root vegetable crisps, bird boxes and ladybird houses, compost heaps...

Winter: Winter in the garden, pot pourri and pomanders, marmalade, steamed puddings...